PKL 2017 | Puneri Paltan thrash U Mumba 33-21 to get off to a perfect start

PKL 2017 | Puneri Paltan thrash U Mumba 33-21 to get off to a perfect start

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Sandeep Narwal was the star for Puneri Paltan as they thrashed U Mumba 33-21 to win the first Maharashtra derby of the Pro Kabaddi League’s season 5. In a match that saw Narwal and Anup Kumar face off, it was the former who came out on top with 6 points to lead Pune to their first win of the season.

Puneri Paltan hit the ground running

In the second game of the opening day, U Mumba skipper Anup Kumar won the toss and decided to raid first. After an empty raid by Pune’s Rajesh Mondal, Anup Kumar opened the scoring for the Mumbai side through a bonus point on the right corner, but soon Pune managed to get a technical point to level the score at 1-1. Pune then scored another two touch points immediately before getting another tackle point to take their lead to 5-1. Mumbai looked completely helpless in front of a rampaging Pune attack as they suffered the first all-out within the first 10 minutes of the game itself as the last-man standing Kuldeep Singh was blocked with a fantastic ankle hold. But such was the ruthlessness of the Pune team that Anup Kumar was superbly taken down which gave Pune a 12-7 lead with 8 minutes to go in the first half. Mondal then helped Pune consolidate their position with a touch point before their star performer of the day, Sandeep Narwal, extended the team’s lead to 13-8. Four points later, at 17-8, Narwal managed to score a super tackle for Pune by sending Kumar off the mat as Pune went into the halftime with a 17-10 lead.

Puneri Paltan ease past U Mumba

While the Mumbai-based team would have been expected to make a comeback in the second half, Puneri Paltan had other plans as they sent Anup Kumar off the mat with a superb ankle hold before, throwing Mumbai’s other star raider Shabeer Bappu off the mat. That took Pune’s lead to 19-10 with Mumbai’s two star raiders absent, Pune took the opportunity to create as many damages as possible as they got hold of Kashiling Adake, which resulted in Mumbai being reduced to just three men. At 20-15, Mumbai’s three-men defense tried to stop Deepak Hooda from scoring a point, but they failed spectacularly as Pune was awarded five points - three for super raid and two for inflicting an all-out on the opposition. Five points later, at 25-10, Anup Kumar scored a bonus point and then managed to get a tackle point through a superb ankle hold which brought the game to 25-12. Three points later, at 28-12, Kumar and Nitin Madane scored two points, but that didn’t help their cause as Pune cantered home with a 33-21 win to open their campaign in style.

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